1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a print setting apparatus displaying a preview image showing an output result of print data, a control method of a print setting apparatus, a computer readable storage medium storing a control program of a print setting apparatus, and a printing apparatus.
2. Description of Related Arts
When an image based on document data is printed using a printing apparatus, a user can appropriately select various print settings on a user interface (UI) provided by a printer driver. Such print settings include double-sided printing to print images based on document data on both sides of a sheet and N-Up printing for reduction printing of images of N pages on one sheet. On the other hand, when a combination of various print settings has been selected on the UI, it may be difficult to exactly predict the finish of the output result (printed matter).
Therefore, printing apparatuses capable of displaying a preview image based on print settings selected by the user have been widely used so that the user can confirm the finish of printed matter in advance. Further, in order for the user to easily select print settings, an information processing apparatus capable of displaying, side by side, a plurality of preview images based on print settings differing from each other is proposed (in Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No, 2006-277605, for example).
However, according to the technique shown in the abovementioned publication, a first preview image and a second preview image based on different print settings from each other can be displayed side by side, but the following inconvenience may occur. For example, according to the technique shown in the abovementioned publication, when the contents of the print settings largely differ from each other, it becomes difficult to intuitively understand how individual pages of document data correspond to various portions of the first and second preview images. Hereinafter, the individual pages of the document data are referred to as “logical pages.”
More specifically, according to the technique shown in the abovementioned publication, when a print setting for the first preview image is double-sided printing and a print setting for the second preview image is N-Up printing, it is hardly understand able how each logical page in the first preview image corresponds to each portion of the second preview image. This makes it difficult to exactly predict the finish of printed matter. Such a problem is considered to become noticeable, especially when a combination of complex print settings is selected on the UI or when a preview image has been dynamically modified using animation technology.
This invention has been made in view of the aforementioned problems in the related art, and objects of this invention are to provide a print setting apparatus, a control method of a print setting apparatus, a computer readable storage medium storing a control program of a print setting apparatus, and a printing apparatus, which can allow a user to intuitively understand correspondence relationships between logical pages in respective preview images in displaying a plurality of preview images provided with different print settings from each other are displayed.